Long Weekend
by Vanamo
Summary: Chloe volunteers to cat sit without realizing she's allergic. Aubrey to the rescue.


Anyone who still is subscribed to this account will probably flip shit because I've actually updated. I felt like writing and I owe rabidnar this fic, so I thought I'd post it. I've done a few other drabbles on my tumblr, which you can find if you care to.

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Aubrey tried to be patient, she really did. She stood outside Chloe's dorm room and knocked three times like any respectable person would and glanced around while waiting, noting the dark wood floor, the walls that were in need of a dousing of new paint, and the obnoxiously-bright signs that adorned other doors on the hall. Not Chloe's. She had an eye for design, which showed on the interior of her dorm room. She had lavender walls (because it complimented her hair, she said) and cream sheets, a mahogany desk she rarely used and at least a dozen framed pictures of her family and the Bellas. And unlike Beca's room, you could always see the floor.

The vision amused Aubrey until she realized she had knocked at least two minutes ago and there was still no bubbly ginger ushering her inside. Aubrey cleared her throat and knocked again purposefully. After another moment, she heard a strange rustling. There is movement across the carpet inside, and a second later Chloe opened the door.

"Oh my _god_," Aubrey gasped. "You look-"

"Horrible, I know," Chloe cut in. Her voice was hoarse and nasally, like she had been out for a night of rum punch-induced shrieking at a concert. But there was nobody Chloe loved so much that she would risk losing her voice, with the possible exception of Beyonce. And Aubrey definitely would have known if Beyonce was touring.

Her redhead friend shifted in the doorway to let Aubrey in. Chloe's eyes were bloodshot and she had hardly stopped sniffling since.. actually no, it had been a continuous flow of snot. Aubrey went straight to the desk by the window, pulled out a tissue and handed it to Chloe while leading her back to bed. The sheet had fallen to the floor and Chloe's blanket was mostly wrapped around her ankles, like she had been asleep and tumbled towards the door rather than walking.

Chloe crumbled into bed in a similar fashion and unceremoniously sneezed into the tissue and everything else in a two foot radius before falling back on a throw pillow. Aubrey jumped back on instinct, but her disgust softened when she heard a whimper from the other girl.

"Are you sick?" Aubrey asked, even though the answer was pretty obvious, and stroked Chloe's hair.

Surprisingly, Chloe shook her head. "It's allergies. Really sucky allergies," she buried her face in the pillow, probably to stifle yet another sneeze.

Aubrey's eyes narrowed. The pollen count was nonexistent today and Chloe always kept her room dust and mite free. "What exactly are you allergic to?"

Chloe sighed. "Alphabet, come here," she called softly.

Now Aubrey was really confused. So her yelp wasn't shocking when she felt something moving in the sheet under her feet.

"Aubrey, meet Alphabet, my dorm neighbor's kitten," Chloe explained as the black furball jumped up on the bed and settled by Chloe's chest. The cat was only slightly bigger than Aubrey's hand and had white paws and a white streak on the left side of his face, going up his nose. He meowed at her for looking at him too long. She scrunched up her nose in retaliation before looking back at Chloe.

"Why do you have Sally's kitten? Pets are against dorm policy," she questioned, while Chloe held her nose to stop yet another sneeze.

"Susan," she corrected,"Technically it's her younger sister's cat, but their whole family is out of town and they don't trust their neighbor because he has this fascination with rock gardens and takes the furniture that people put on the curb for the garbage truck, so she asked me to look after him..."

"For how long?"

Chloe sneezed and Alphabet scurried across the bed. "Three days," she muttered.

Aubrey shook her head. "Honestly, you are too nice," she stood up and grabbed the whole tissue box this time. Chloe smiled gratefully. "I suppose you didn't know you were allergic?"

Chloe blew her nose and threw the tissue towards the wastebasket - and missed by about four feet. Aubrey gaped, amused because apparently her dance skills did not translate to essential three-pointer coordination to throw paper from any angle into a trash can. Normally Aubrey would go pick it up, but for now she stayed by Chloe's side - no doubt more missed targets would join it. Alphabet had taken up position under the desk across the room like a lion in its den, glaring at the new intruder to his domain.

"No, I didn't," Chloe sighed. "It's such a travesty. He's so cute and my sneezes are scaring him."

"Right," Aubrey said, thinking back to when the kitten jumped five times its own height. "More importantly - why is it named Alphabet?"

Chloe blew her nose and sniffed unceremoniously as a means of clearing her throat. "Well, I don't know what his name actually is. I thought of naming him Bella, after the Bellas, but it's a boy and I don't think he'd appreciate it. Then I thought of you and Beca and ABC - you know, Aubrey, Beca, Chloe. But it sounded too Sesame Street-" she abruptly sneezed and Aubrey jumped back from the line of fire. Chloe feebly smiled an apology and continued, "and so I was going through one of those baby name websites on my phone, but the letters were just swimming like Alphabet Soup and poof! - Alphabet."

Aubrey was touched that Chloe had thought of her when trying to name the kitten. Beca not so much, but she'd let it slide for today. The roundabout naming method was so like her best friend. "Well then," Aubrey said, "how can I make you feel better?" Chloe's face fell and she shuffled back against the pillows. "Aubrey, it's a long weekend. Don't you have more exciting plans than taking care of me?"

To be honest, Aubrey didn't. She figured she'd go shopping tomorrow after an early morning yoga session, but she couldn't recall the last time she hadn't spent some portion of her weekend with Chloe or the Bellas. She shrugged and replied as casually as possible, "As much as I abhor the thought of getting cat hair out of my clothes, it's this or a Biology paper."

Chloe beamed and pulled her across the bed into a hug. Aubrey was about to protest when her face was promptly smushed against Chloe's breasts with only a thin white tank top separating Aubrey's cheek from.. well, she didn't need to finish the thought. After a few seconds of neck-squeezing via Chloe's pincer grip, Aubrey cleared her throat. "Oh, sorry," Chloe smiled and patted the pillow next to her. Aubrey obliged and positioned herself between Chloe and the wall, trying to ignore how Chloe's left leg was practically on top of her right. She caught Chloe glancing at her and smiled. Her eyes were reddish and watery and she hadn't bothered with make-up, but it was more her, somehow. More natural, she supposed. Definitely just as beautiful.

With a small sigh in the sheets, Alphabet jumped onto the bed to join them. He watched Aubrey warily for a moment before shuffling towards them and settling in the crook of Chloe's left knee. Chloe laughed and petted him on the head, trying to stifle her sniffling. Alphabet looked at Aubrey, almost expectantly. Seeing the kitten's change in demeanor, Chloe shot her a look.

"Well?" she grinned.

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "Oh, fine," she tepidly petted the cat's back. "Are you sure he's had his shots?"

"Aubrey!"


End file.
